£320k fine for pub bosses over illegal Sky Sports showings
Three pub bosses have been ordered to pay more than £320,000 for showing Sky Sports illegally.
Action was taken against the Pheasant Inn in Wolverhampton, the Prince of Wales in Stafford and the Beaufort Arms in Birmingham for showing sport without paying for the subscription.
The licensees and company directors responsible for running the pubs were convicted of a total of 64 offences at Birmingham Magistrates Court.
Jonathan Hunt, the designated premises supervisor of the The Pheasant, on Wood End Road, Wednesfield, and the Prince of Wales on Weston Road, was found guilty of 19 offences.
He failed to appear at the sentencing hearing on Wednesday and was fined £152,000. He was also ordered to pay £35,000 in costs.
Mark Jones, a director of Monk Moor Pubs, was found guilty of 19 offences.
He also failed to appear and was fined £114,000 and ordered to pay £25,000 costs.
Robert Stevens, a director of Monk Moor Pubs, was convicted of one offence and was fined £950.
Carol Keenan, the designated premises supervisor of the Beaufort Arms in Hamstead, pleaded guilty to seven offences.
She was handed a 12-month conditional discharge.
Stephen Gerrard, prosecuting manager at the Federation Against Copyright Theft, said “The licensees and company involved in this case have consistently refused to engage with us and ignored numerous warnings and offers of advice sent to them.
“This clearly demonstrates their conscious decision to offend, over a significant period of time.
“We were left with no option but to prosecute these individuals and we will continue to prosecute publicans who are fraudulently showing Sky programmes in their premises.”
George Lawson, head of commercial piracy at Sky, added “We take illegal use of our programming very seriously and we remain committed to protecting our legitimate Sky customers who are unfairly losing business due to this illegal activity.”
